Network Design

Riverstone delivers "telco class" network availability to IP-Ethernet metro networks

Oct. 11, 2001

Oct. 11, 2001--Metropolitan area networking provider Riverstone Networks, Inc., announced a new technology that delivers SONET-like, Telco-class network availability to IP/Ethernet-based metropolitan area networks.

Metropolitan area networking provider Riverstone Networks, Inc., (Nasdaq: RSTN) announced a new technology that delivers SONET-like, Telco-class network availability to IP/Ethernet-based metropolitan area networks. Now a standard feature on Riverstone's RS family of chassis-based routers, Riverstone claims that its Hitless Protection System (HPS) is the first technology to extend carrier-grade availability to metro-based video, voice and premium data services.

This failover capability provides protection to Layer-2 traffic, Layer-3 (routed) traffic and application information (Layer 4) while significantly increasing network uptime and reducing costs associated with network outages, such as lost revenue, SLA penalties, repair fees and customer churn. Unlike conventional IP switches and routers that drop traffic and remain off-line during software upgrades and system restarts, Riverstone's RS family of chassis-based routers with HPS continue functioning with no impact on live traffic during these disruptions. Riverstone's HPS improves network recovery times by a factor of 60, eliminating over 25 hours of network downtime and 250 hours of router downtime in a 500-router network each year.

By bringing a new level of high availability networking to metro Ethernet networks, Riverstone's HPS also reduces the need for redundant routers during the initial phase of deployments, significantly lowering network rollout costs.

Riverstone's HPS is part of the company's Carrier Class Metro initiative designed to bring high-availability networking to metropolitan area networks.

The Hitless Protection System is currently available with Riverstone's 8.0 software release.

About Riverstone Networks:

Riverstone Networks, Inc., (Nasdaq: RSTN) builds routers that convert raw bandwidth into profitable services for Metropolitan Area Networks. Riverstone's products enable the creation of profitable services and the delivery of these services over next-generation and legacy networks, including SONET/SDH, Gigabit Ethernet, T1/E1, T3/E3, ATM, and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). For more information, visit www.riverstonenet.com.